Accepting Bitcoin in a Bricks and Mortar Shop

[bitcoinbot]

Hi,

I run a retail shop in the UK and I am considering accepting Bitcoin.

I don't really understand how to do it.

I know I can create a QR code but do I need a QR code for each item I sell?

So, the customer comes in and wants 3 things, how do I do it?

Sorry if this makes little sense.

[Amph]

i think you just need one, so they can acquire your address, unless you want to use a different address each time

this is a good video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnm4xFC2xNo

[Bitware]

Retail price divided by the current bitcoin price equals the amount of bitcoins needed for purchase. Then create a QR code for that amount of bitcoins.

For instance, if their total purchase is $247 and the bitcoin price is $250, then the amount of Bitcoins they need to give you is ฿0.988 ($247 / $250 = ฿0.988)

EDIT: I recommend monitoring the blockchain in real time or using a bitcoin payment provider that monitors the blockchain in real time for payments, so you can approve the purchase in a few seconds for small value items, else you will need to wait for confirmations to reach your client. There is a small risk of double spending though when not waiting for 6 confirmations. We have a few businesses here that allow payment in Bitcoin for small value items and they use the same Bitcoin payment provider that monitors the blockchain in real time. Takes a few seconds for the payment to appear and neither of them claim to ever have lost funds due to double spending. I know because I ask them every once in a while.

[MicroGuy]

Maybe you could try this: https://bitpay.com/bitcoin-for-retail

also... https://www.google.com/search?q=coinbase+pos&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=bitcoin+pos+solutions

[Studio60]

Hi,

I run a retail shop in the UK and I am considering accepting Bitcoin.

I don't really understand how to do it.

I know I can create a QR code but do I need a QR code for each item I sell?

So, the customer comes in and wants 3 things, how do I do it?

Sorry if this makes little sense.

I think you're talking about how to separate the payments, right?

You can think of each public address (also represented as a QR code) as an individual account. If you control the private key to that address you fully control the account. It's possible to use Bitcoin with only one or two accounts, but for reasons like privacy it's advised to use more, and every account (public/private key pair) can be created quickly and freely.

Just to get started and get familiar you may want to use only one account/QR code for customers to pay. Then simply watch the transactions at blockchain.info/address, for example: https://blockchain.info/address/1FMaLBrEM4nkCn15CoAeykb912jr7AfuwV

By watching that screen you can see each individual transaction which comes in. So you hold the QR code for the customer to scan and send their coins while watching that address on blockchain.info which will have it show up in a few seconds. It will be unconfirmed of course for on average 10 minutes.

So the customer wants 3 things, you give them a grand total as usual then find how much that is in bitcoins (divide total by bitcoin price) and have them send payment to QR code address.

[manselr]

Hi,

I run a retail shop in the UK and I am considering accepting Bitcoin.

I don't really understand how to do it.

I know I can create a QR code but do I need a QR code for each item I sell?

So, the customer comes in and wants 3 things, how do I do it?

Sorry if this makes little sense.

I think you're talking about how to separate the payments, right?

You can think of each public address (also represented as a QR code) as an individual account. If you control the private key to that address you fully control the account. It's possible to use Bitcoin with only one or two accounts, but for reasons like privacy it's advised to use more, and every account (public/private key pair) can be created quickly and freely.

Just to get started and get familiar you may want to use only one account/QR code for customers to pay. Then simply watch the transactions at blockchain.info/address, for example: https://blockchain.info/address/1FMaLBrEM4nkCn15CoAeykb912jr7AfuwV

By watching that screen you can see each individual transaction which comes in. So you hold the QR code for the customer to scan and send their coins while watching that address on blockchain.info which will have it show up in a few seconds. It will be unconfirmed of course for on average 10 minutes.

So the customer wants 3 things, you give them a grand total as usual then find how much that is in bitcoins (divide total by bitcoin price) and have them send payment to QR code address.

But how do you avoid all the transactions showing up on that same payment QR code you use on your address?

Let's say I have a shop, print a QR code and put it on the desk so people can scan it and pay. Cool. But im using the same address for every single person that pays me. They know how I am and where my shop is, and they know how much money im making since they know the address from having paid once. This sucks, so what is the alternative for a physical shop?

[Studio60]

But how do you avoid all the transactions showing up on that same payment QR code you use on your address?

Let's say I have a shop, print a QR code and put it on the desk so people can scan it and pay. Cool. But im using the same address for every single person that pays me. They know how I am and where my shop is, and they know how much money im making since they know the address from having paid once. This sucks, so what is the alternative for a physical shop?

Yes, you're right. I was only suggesting to start that way and get familiar. For better privacy it's better to use a new address for every transaction. It's just not so convenient to print out

To be a little more sophisticated you can simply set up a wallet at blockchain.info. From there you can create new addresses quickly and freely. This works especially well if you have a portable screen, such as a mobile phone or iPad tablet. When logged into your blockchain.info wallet click on 'Receive Money'. From that screen you can click on New Address any time to get a new address, then click on 'actions -> QR code' to display a QR code which can be scanned. Then click on that address to show the screen I mentioned before to see incoming transactions on that address.

[Jeremycoin]

Maybe you could try this: https://bitpay.com/bitcoin-for-retail

also... https://www.google.com/search?q=coinbase+pos&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=bitcoin+pos+solutions

Point of Sale is a great idea, thx for sharing by the way

[franky1]

Hi,

I run a retail shop in the UK and I am considering accepting Bitcoin.

I don't really understand how to do it.

I know I can create a QR code but do I need a QR code for each item I sell?

So, the customer comes in and wants 3 things, how do I do it?

Sorry if this makes little sense.

think of a bitcoin public address QR code as a bank account number..
when people want to buy things they add everything to their basket/trolley. and then at checkout/cash register you total the cost and convert it to a bitcoin amount.
you then display the QR code to the customer and let them pay. you then monitor the address to see when a payment arrives.

you can if you want have a individual QR code per product, per total customer bill, per day. or anything.. but to get started just have one QR code that you monitor until you get used to it and expand into it more. as holding handfuls of addresses can be confusing at first

[bitcoinbot]

So Mr blogs buys 3 items totaling 35 Bucks, I need to print or create a new Qr everytime?

[Studio60]

So Mr blogs buys 3 items totaling 35 Bucks, I need to print or create a new Qr everytime?

It's up to you how you handle the transaction.

A Bitcoin account, also known as a public/private key pair will receive coins. There is basically no limit on how little or how much any account can receive. Collect the coins in the way that makes the most sense for you. I already talked about the difference in using one QR code versus a new QR code for every transaction.

The customer just wants to pay what they owe and leave. So my advice is create a wallet at Blockchain.info. When somebody wants to pay you in bitcoin first find out what their grand total is, say $35. At today's rate of $236 that would be $35/$236 = 0.1483 bitcoins.

Log into blockchain.info and click 'Receive Money' then click 'New Address'. On that new address click 'actions -> show QR code'. Have the customer scan the QR and send 0.1483 BTC. You then click on that address and verify that the transaction comes through within a few seconds.

Simple!

Note that the transaction will be originally unconfirmed, for about 10 minutes. You are supposed to wait at least 1 confirmation before considering the payment ok. However, if you're selling items under about $100 it's probably unlikely someone would take the (difficult) technical trouble to try and cancel the payment.

[bitcoinbot]

Many thanks. Announcement coming soon. We are due to open June 13th.

[Studio60]

Many thanks. Announcement coming soon. We are due to open June 13th.

Great! Make sure to let us all know! Also, you can list your business on coinmap.org.

[BlackMachine]

So Mr blogs buys 3 items totaling 35 Bucks, I need to print or create a new Qr everytime?

You can choose either way. Creating a new address everytime helps to differentiate payments from different people. If two person decides to pay for something and there's one transaction which came through and both of them said that they have paid, you would have some trouble identifying them.

[Q7]

Hi,

I run a retail shop in the UK and I am considering accepting Bitcoin.

I don't really understand how to do it.

I know I can create a QR code but do I need a QR code for each item I sell?

So, the customer comes in and wants 3 things, how do I do it?

Sorry if this makes little sense.

The QR code can contain and translate into whatever information that you set into it. Imagine having something similar like bar code. For instance, whatever word that you type here in this website http://goqr.me/ will actually translate into the corresponding QR code.
For instance you can set the price into every product so when it comes to the cash registrar, have the attendant scan through the pricing and then tally everything up to the total amount that the customer need to pay.
From there, assign another QR code which would be the bitcoin payment address and have the person make payment by sending bitcoin to that address. I hope I've explained that.

[manselr]

But how do you avoid all the transactions showing up on that same payment QR code you use on your address?

Let's say I have a shop, print a QR code and put it on the desk so people can scan it and pay. Cool. But im using the same address for every single person that pays me. They know how I am and where my shop is, and they know how much money im making since they know the address from having paid once. This sucks, so what is the alternative for a physical shop?

Yes, you're right. I was only suggesting to start that way and get familiar. For better privacy it's better to use a new address for every transaction. It's just not so convenient to print out

To be a little more sophisticated you can simply set up a wallet at blockchain.info. From there you can create new addresses quickly and freely. This works especially well if you have a portable screen, such as a mobile phone or iPad tablet. When logged into your blockchain.info wallet click on 'Receive Money'. From that screen you can click on New Address any time to get a new address, then click on 'actions -> QR code' to display a QR code which can be scanned. Then click on that address to show the screen I mentioned before to see incoming transactions on that address.

But what if you can't afford an extra screen? (because moving your screen everytime to show the client would be extremely annoying). There should be a way to print a single public address, then people pay there but you get paid in a randomly generated new address that no one can know besides you. Isn't this what HD wallets like Electrum do? I have no idea how it works yet and would like to learn.
What you propose is not very convenient, there must be better ways to do this if we want mass adoption

[Kyraishi]

Hi,

I run a retail shop in the UK and I am considering accepting Bitcoin.

I don't really understand how to do it.

I know I can create a QR code but do I need a QR code for each item I sell?

So, the customer comes in and wants 3 things, how do I do it?

Sorry if this makes little sense.

Can't you just do it from a smartphone?
I am sure that there are many mobile wallets that can allow you to display a QR code of an address that you own.

[Studio60]

But what if you can't afford an extra screen? (because moving your screen everytime to show the client would be extremely annoying). There should be a way to print a single public address, then people pay there but you get paid in a randomly generated new address that no one can know besides you. Isn't this what HD wallets like Electrum do? I have no idea how it works yet and would like to learn.
What you propose is not very convenient, there must be better ways to do this if we want mass adoption

That's an interesting idea. A QR code simply holds information, so I guess it could hold a public seed instead of a pubic key, but the customer's phone would still need to have software that recognized and generated the address to use.

Another option might be buying an extra monitor. Many laptops come with an external monitor port and you can buy flat screens on Amazon for as low as $10 used.

[thebenjamincode]

Hi,

I run a retail shop in the UK and I am considering accepting Bitcoin.

I don't really understand how to do it.

I know I can create a QR code but do I need a QR code for each item I sell?

So, the customer comes in and wants 3 things, how do I do it?

Sorry if this makes little sense.

try to use coinbase merchant tool or shapeshift.io

[bitcoinbot]

Many thanks. Announcement coming soon. We are due to open June 13th.

Great! Make sure to let us all know! Also, you can list your business on coinmap.org.

How do I add a business to coinmap.org?